Disclaimer: Labyrinth is owned by Jim Henson. Return to Labyrinth is owned by Jake T. Forbes and Tokyopop. I do not own any of the original characters.
Hello everyone, Ember 2010 here. So i want to thank Buggus264 and MaidMarian17 for your reviews on my last chapter. thank you so much. i live for reviews like that. no literally. i have no real life outside my computer most days. also, i want to thank Matt Tetrick for helping me with the character Zenith.
Chapter 5: Possibility
Zenith was sleeping in his throne later that night when he was awoken by a strange golden light. He looked around to find the glow was emanating from the crystal he was using to watch Jareth and family. Zenith looked closer at the crystal. It was still focused on the sleeping Victoria, but something about her was off. She was giving off an otherworldly golden glow that upon closer examination, Zenith saw was composed of every color known to man and some that man had never seen before.
"Could he really have done that?" Zenith murmured, watching the crystal with interest.
"Perhaps" an ancient voice said.
Zenith looked up to see a wrinkled old goblin with white bushy eyebrows and a matching beard and bushy mustache. Upon his head was a hat with a bird head and neck and a pair of spectacles. The old goblin, known as the Wiseman, moved slowly towards the king. Zenith waves his hand and an armchair materialized next to the throne. The Wiseman slowly made his way to the chair and looked into the crystal. "Perhaps."
"That is tricky" Zenith commented to his adviser.
The Wiseman nodded. "It is definitely something Jareth would do. Put the heart in the one he treasured most."
Zenith paused to consider this. He had always thought that Sarah was the one that Jareth treasured most; his actions when Sarah had solved the labyrinth supported that. However, Jareth was as human as he could be now, and while Zenith was well acquainted with goblins and other magical beings, Humans were a complete mystery to him. Their short lives were so dull that Zenith didn't even consider them worth conquering. However, it was possible that Jareth knew something that he didn't, for while Zenith had power, he lacked the wisdom that came with age. Perhaps Humans had a defensive power towards their offspring. It was possible that the reason Jareth placed the Heart of the Labyrinth in his daughter was because that whatever power humans possessed would protect it within her.
The Wiseman cleared his throat, pulling Zenith out of his reflection.
"The question now is," the Wiseman said, "what will you do about it?"
"What do you mean?" Zenith asked, watching the girl sleep.
"The heart has merged with the girl's own heart.'" the Wiseman said, "If you separate them, she will die."
Zenith was silent for a while. "I know." He said finally.
The old goblin chuckled. "Then you won't be able to hear her lovely singing again."
"I know that." Zenith snapped.
A little goblin builder crept closer to the throne to see the crystal. When he saw who was in the crystal he got nervous. Mas looked up at his king.
"Is Lord Zenith going to kidnap Viki?" Mas asked, unsure of whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing.
"No," Zenith said, intently watching the crystal, "not yet."
"Why?" the little goblin asked.
Zenith made the crystal vanish. "For the best results, she has to come of her own free will."
"How are we going to do that?" Mas asked.
"Easy my friend." Zenith said, getting up from his throne.
Mas was confused. "It is?"
"Yes" the goblin king replied, donning a black cloak.
"Oh…." Mas thought for a bit, "how are we going to do it?"
Zenith looked at the little goblin. "What is the easiest way to get a heart, but leaves the person alive?"
Mas thought for a bit. "Heart transplant?" he asked, trying to sound smart.
Zenith sighed. "I said the easiest you idiot." He said, throwing Mas out the window.
The Wiseman chuckled. "That may indeed be the easiest way to get her heart." he said.
"Yes." Jareth said, looking out the window with a determined look, "but I also want the girl."
A goblin soldier looked up at his king. "Why do you want the girl?" he asked, confused as to why King Zenith would want a revolting human girl. 'Maybe he wants to eat her.' The goblin thought.
Zenith didn't even look at the goblin. "I like her singing." He said.
"Oh." The goblin said. Resigning himself to the idea that Zenith wanted to keep the girl as a pet. "How are we going to get her here?" the goblin asked.
Zenith tore his gaze away from the view of the labyrinth and the barren wasteland beyond. His mind briefly went to the prophecy of the rightful queen returning life back to the land beyond the labyrinth. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. "Simple," he said, answering the goblin's question, "she is going to get curious."
"Curious about what?" the goblin asked.
Zenith let a predatory smirk spread across his face." Curious about an owl."
oooo. Zenith knows where the Heart is now. what will happen next? you will have to wait to find out. Please leave a comment in the little box at the bottom of the screen.